Page 76 of Lord of Fortune
Apprehension buzzed over her, and she squeezed the trigger. Thaddeus’s sharp cry rent the air. “You shot me!”
Kersey was upon them now, the flaming sword still lighting the way. He scooped up the two halves of the heart and thrust them at Amelia. “Come on!” He ran for her horse, and she followed, the heart clutched in one hand and her spent pistol in the other.
At her horse, she tucked the pieces of the heart back into her coat.
“I’ll take that.” Kersey took her pistol and thrust it into his pocket. Then he boosted her up and took off toward his own horse. “Ride for Hollyhaven as fast as you can!”
Thaddeus had stood and now staggered toward his fallen man.
Amelia guided her horse back the way they’d come. Her mind churned with everything that had just happened. Thaddeus was alive and well and apparently part of the Camelot group. What did that mean? Had he always been a member? Was that why he’d married her? Or had he somehow fallen into that group after meeting her grandfather? Wait, did she think her grandfather was somehow attached to them?
She felt sick. And disappointed. And utterly foolish.
It was several minutes before Kersey rode up alongside her. “I think we can slow down a bit,” he called out.
Amelia eased her mount to a trot and glanced over at him. “They aren’t following us?”
“No. I’m sure they’ve gone to lick their wounds.”
Oh God, she’dshotThaddeus. She’d all but pushed that from her mind. Now his yelp of pain slammed into her brain, and she saw him recoil and grab his right arm. “I shot him,” she whispered. “Do you think he’s all right?” she asked more loudly.
Kersey shot her a quick look. “Your… Thaddeus or the other fellow?”
“Thaddeus, and I hope he’s suffering. He deserves to.”
“He’s your husband?” At her curt nod, he added, “I take it you’re quite shocked to see him?”
“He abandoned me five years ago.”
“He’s clearly an imbecile.”
“And a member of the Camelot group.” She looked over at him again as they turned onto the road that would take them to Hollyhaven. “Do you know him?”
“I recognized him, but we’d never been introduced. I can tell you he’s one of Foliot’s inner circle,” he said grimly.
The questions crowding her mind grew louder. Had Thaddeus been part of that inner circle when he’d married her? Had her entire marriage been a farce?
She began to understand how Penn might have felt yesterday upon hearing about his father. The feeling that her marriage had been a lie blossomed in her chest and grew outward until she felt as though she might suffocate. To think she’d been used… Well, it didn’t bear thinking.
And yet she couldn’t wipe it from her mind.
* * *
Frustration pitchedthrough Penn as he stalked through the near darkness toward the house from the stable. They hadn’t been able to find the vicar. He’d left the village for some unknown “errand.” It might’ve been unknown to the man’s wife and rector, but it wasn’t to Penn.
Egg had gone off in pursuit while Penn had returned to Hollyhaven. He’d been incredibly torn. While it was vital he stop this vicar from proving Penn’s birthright, it was also imperative he continue his quest with Amelia.
He entered the house through the back and headed straight for the stairs. As soon as he walked into the hall, his parents came from his father’s study.
“We saw you ride to the stable,” his father said cautiously. “I was hoping you would look more at ease.”
“I was hoping I’dfeelmore at ease. Pardon me, I need to speak with Amelia.”
He started up the stairs and heard his mother say, “She’s already retired for the evening.”
Penn wasn’t about to let that stop him, and right now, he didn’t give a damn if his parents knew it. He needed to see her, to bury his hurt and disappointment in her embrace.
He arrived at her chamber and rapped on the door. When no answer was forthcoming, he knocked a bit harder. Still nothing. Was she really asleep?
